


For Efficiency's Sake

by BriarLily



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: F/M, I blame Jareth, Some Crack, Some Fluff, Valentine's Day Fluff, a lot of nudity actually, some nudity, you know how it goes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-19 07:13:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5958409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriarLily/pseuds/BriarLily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sarah may have implied that Jareth could sometimes be overly concerned with his appearance. Jareth finds a solution.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Monday

**Author's Note:**

> This began as a response to the newest drabble challenge over at the Labyfic Livejournal, go check it out (and share your drabble!): http://labyfic.livejournal.com/174422.html  
> Challenge prompt is this quote from Mark Twain: "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." I think we all know where this is going...

The castle was quiet as Sarah made her way to the library. It wasn’t very early, but she had found in the past year that most of the residents kept the same night owl hours as her husband. She was hardly a morning person herself, but she did prefer to start the morning before Jareth got out of bed, certainly before he ever made it out of their room. 

He had teased her for her schedule before, pointing out that he had ignored his work for much longer than a morning many times over his long reign and the kingdom still managed, but Sarah felt guilty doing the same. She was the newcomer, after all, and already at a disadvantage. She didn’t want to give the other royals another reason to look down on her. Still, she would admit to letting herself be delayed in bed by him more than a few times. He was a difficult man to resist, and she couldn’t find it in her to try all that hard. 

She laid a hand against the library door and it swung open easily for her despite its weight. A small stack of papers sat on the desk by the window on the other side of the room. She strode over and picked the top one up, a nearly translucent sheet filled with swirling dark red writing. She sighed as she sank into the chair behind the desk. Another ball, of course. They couldn’t resist any occasion, celebrating a holiday of passion with another debauched affair was a given. 

Sarah ran her hand through her hair. The Midwinter event didn’t seem very long ago, and she wasn’t overjoyed to be repeating the experience so soon. Perhaps it was her “uptight human morals” as Jareth had put it, but every event was like being fifteen again, confused and overwhelmed in a place she didn’t belong. It didn’t help that the reality of the gatherings was much more intense than her younger self could have conceived. Jareth was supportive, he had no more desire to share her than she did him, but she knew she was somewhat baffled by her profound discomfort with the goings-on at court. 

The events were important politically however, and she couldn’t ignore them because she was uncomfortable. There were plenty of exchanges going on beyond the obvious encounters, and Sarah was determined to understand them better, to unravel the subtleties that Jareth took for granted. She neatly folded her reply and turned it over in her hands several times before setting it to the side of the desk. Jareth would have to send it later. 

She picked up the next item from the stack, the thickest one of the bunch. From the plain envelope and stamps she could tell exactly who it was from, and she smiled when she tore it open to see Karen’s neat handwriting. She leaned back in the chair to read, laughing at Karen’s description of Toby’s somewhat disastrous school play. She set the photo Karen had included carefully to the side, then rummaged through the desk for paper and a pen. 

The sound of the door swinging open startled Sarah several minutes later, but she continued writing as she heard her husband’s footsteps approach. She finished her sentence with a flourish and looked up, smiling.

“Good mor-“ she began, but stopped dead when she registering what he was wearing. Or not wearing, as it happened. At first she thought he had simply chosen a different color for his attire, but her mind soon caught up and realized that he was standing before her completely naked of everything except his trademark pointy grin, widened to dangerous proportions. She gaped for a second and the grin somehow grew even wider. Clearing her throat, she tried again.

“Good morning,” she said, her voice much breathier than she intended. Biting her lip, she looked back down at the letter, determined not to give him the reaction he wanted. 

“Good morning,” he replied, and she could just hear his stupid smirk. 

Floundering a bit, she stubbornly picked up the pen she had dropped, and stared at her letter, trying to resolve the letters into words so she could remember what she had just written. Damn it, it wasn’t like it was anything she hadn’t seen before!

Giving up on the letter, she tossed the pen back down and met Jareth’s gaze, just waiting for her. 

“That’s a new look for you,” she commented lightly. “Dare I ask what inspired it?”

“Well,” he began, “my closest advisor recently defamed me as a – what was it? – Oh yes, a ‘preening peacock who cares more about his next costume change than running a kingdom.’” He paused, to give her a pointed look, which Sarah returned. He sniffed, and she rolled her eyes. She certainly had no reason to change her opinion. 

“So, in order to restore my reputation as a worthy monarch and demonstrate my _devotion_ to my kingdom, I decided to eliminate my wardrobe from my concerns so that I might fully focus my rather considerable attentions to my rule.”

“Well,” she started, then realized she didn’t know what she was going to say. “Well,” she tried again. “I’m sure the goblins will appreciate your ‘devotion.’” A thought occurred to her. “You aren’t seriously going to go in the throne room like that, are you?”

“But of course,” he replied, attempting to look offended, “I would be guilty of serious neglect as a king if I didn’t spend time with my subjects. And I couldn’t possibly spare the time to change, could I? Someone might accuse me of distraction.”

She could undoubtedly accuse him of that. She was still having difficulty focusing on the conversation. “Good luck with that,” she said, looking determinedly at her letter. “I wouldn’t want to go in there with everything just, you know, hanging out like that, but more power to you.”

He waved a hand at her concerns. “I am sure their natural awe at my presence will be enough to prevent any – accidents.”

She raised her eyebrows disbelievingly, but he ignored her, examining his fingernails instead. She snorted, not a stitch on and he still managed to fuss over his appearance. 

“If you’re actually going to focus on the kingdom, you should probably go check they haven’t burnt it down,” she said pointedly, still not looking at him.

“Right you are, darling,” he agreed, and turned to leave.

She watched him go out of the corner of her eye. Just before he left, she called after him.

“How long are you planning on doing this?”

He flashed her a grin over his shoulder. “Why, indefinitely, of course. I wouldn’t want you to think my dedication was in any way _lacking_.”

With that, he left, the solid wooden doors closing heavily behind him. Sarah gave in and let her head fall to the desk with an echoing thud. 

-

That afternoon found the queen visiting the outer edges of the Labyrinth, enjoying tea with the few sane creatures left in the realm, and trying very hard to forget she had ever seen a throne room full of goblins gleefully following her illustrious husband’s example.


	2. Tuesday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much shorter today, enjoy!

The next morning Sarah woke up early, intending to spend the day away from her husband again, until his current fit of insanity had blown over. He had anticipated her however, and was already awake, standing by the fireplace. Even more surprising than his early hours was the fact that he was dressed, in a manner of speaking. Sarah blinked several times, not entirely sure she wasn’t still dreaming. 

The sight before her remained unchanged. Apparently she was awake. She cleared her throat and he spun to face her, devilish grin firmly in place. 

“What,” she said slowly, “is that?”

“What’s what, precious?” he purred.

“What are you wearing?” she asked, gesturing at the bright pink thong wrapped tightly around his hips. 

“Oh, this?” he replied, doing everything but batting his eyelashes at her and still missing innocence by miles. “It seems I rather underestimated the enthusiasm of my subjects yesterday, so for both our sakes, I deemed some degree of personal protection was in order.”

“And that was your best option?”

“I couldn’t bear to waste any more time than absolutely necessary on my apparel. This provides a pleasing minimum, don’t you think?”

“I think I preferred you naked,” Sarah muttered under her breath.

“What was that precious?” he asked, canines flashing.

“Nothing,” she said quickly.

“Are you sure?”

“Where did you even get that?” she asked, ignoring him. “As far as I knew, you didn’t even own underwear.” She was certain she would have remembered seeing this before.

“I did have to procure a few things –” 

“Of course,” she interrupted, rolling her eyes.

“But,” he continued over her, “I can assure you it is a concern that will not occupy any more of my time.”

“I’m so relieved,” she said dryly, crossing her arms.

He nodded haughtily. “I thought you would be.” He looked over her, still dressed in the worn tank top and sleep pants she had worn to bed. “Perhaps I could convince you to join me? It’s incredibly liberating.” He leered, smoothing his hands over his narrow hips.

She swallowed. “I’m getting dressed,” she said, standing up from the bed and walking over to the closet. 

He heaved a dramatic sigh. “If you insist.”

She rolled her eyes again, though he couldn’t see it. Swiftly, he approached her from behind and set his hands on her hips. 

“Must get to work now, love, you know how it is.” He leaned over her shoulder and she met him in a brief kiss. “Duty never ceases and all.”

She snorted, and he gave her hip a quick pinch before letting her go. She yelped and turned to glare at him, but he was already gone.


	3. Wednesday

Jareth’s efforts at being a morning person were short lived. When Sarah woke at her normal time the next morning, he was still sound asleep. His face was mostly buried in the pillows, the sheets were tangled around him, and his arm was thrown across her waist. She smiled fondly, brushing his feathery hair back from his eyes.

She lay there for a moment, tracing the line of his eyebrow with a finger, then with a gusty sigh, she rolled over and slid out of the bed. Jareth gave a slight groan as his hand flopped back to the bed and she smiled at him over her shoulder. She stretched, then padded over to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

She was sitting at the vanity, dressed and brushing her hair out when Jareth eventually got up. He untangled the sheets, shoved them to the edge of the bed, and stretched as she had, lean muscles shifting under his pale skin. She watched, still brushing her hair her hair absently, as he made his way over to the wardrobe, still wonderfully bare, and leaned over to rummage through a drawer. 

He pulled out a sky blue scrap of fabric, then bent over and slowly, much more slowly than was necessary, dragged it up his long legs to rest around his hips. Sarah bit her lips as she watched him adjust the tight fabric, shimmying a little to make sure everything was in place. Her brush was hovering behind her head, forgotten mid-stroke when he met her eyes in the mirror and smirked. Turning bright red, she quickly finished with the brush and tossed it down on the vanity. Jareth sauntered across the room to stand behind her. 

“Can I assume that you appreciate today’s selection?” he purred in her ear.

“It’s certainly minimal,” she said, still unfortunately pink.

“I think it brings out my eyes.”

Sarah looked at him in disbelief. She was fairly confident his eyes were the last thing anyone was going to notice. Although, she supposed it was nearly the same color, if she really looked at it…

She dragged her eyes back up to find he had definitely noticed where her attention had been focused. 

“Are you quite sure you wouldn’t like to change? We could match, I have spares,” he murmured, breath warm against her neck.

She pushed back from the table and he stepped obligingly away. “I’m pretty sure they’d be too big on me,” she said dryly.

His eyes lit up and she groaned inwardly as she realized the opening she had given him. He pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her waist. 

“Oh, I’m sure we could find something to fit you quite nicely, love.” He bit gently at her earlobe. 

She let herself soak in his embrace for a moment. He was warm and comfortable and was nipping softly at her neck in a very pleasing way. Sighing, she pushed lightly at his chest and took a small step back. 

He gave her neck a last kiss before straightening up. “Back to work then?” 

Before she could answer, he was walking away, hands lingering at her waist as he left. 

She watched him pass through the door, then looked longingly at the bed, wondering if it might not be more productive to just spend the day under the blankets. But the papers she wanted to go over, details she wanted to review before her next time at court nagged at her, and she reluctantly followed her husband out of the room. A day in bed would hardly be worth it without Jareth anyway.


	4. Thursday

Sarah raked her hands through her hair in frustration. The Labyrinth had decided today would be bright and sunny with a cool breeze, so she had grabbed a light sweater and taken the thick books and scraps of paper she had been reading outside. Now they were spread across a large stone bench in a nook she had found in the hedge maze. 

She had only meant to quickly check some facts she had forgotten, but she had come across a several mentions to a conflict she didn’t recognize, and when she had finally found a description of it elsewhere, she had been drawn into a whole new realm of complexities. She had tracked down a story, a couple histories, and assorted letters and was trying to tease answers from them, to find out what had happened, more or less, and why the court still cared. She had been making progress until she had gotten to references to another unfamiliar name, which would mean hours more in the library sifting through books and scrolls and scrawls and books that weren’t books and letters shoved between crumbling pages to find what she wanted. She loved the library, but sometimes she would have just liked to be able to find the information she needed without the adventure. She had made some progress in the massive collection, but she had learned a year was barely enough to understand the scope of the situation. 

She groaned and flopped back on the bench and stared up at the sky, seriously contemplating going back in time to kill a couple of important fae to save herself the trouble of figuring out what they had done to piss off each other’s kingdoms so much. Jareth would be able to help.

Fluffy clouds passed overhead and she idly imagined shapes in them: that one was a dragon, that could be a ship, and that was definitely a chicken. She was squinting at a particularly complex one when something not at all cloud-like appeared in front of her.

She batted at the hair that was now hanging in her face. “You’re blocking my view,” she said in mock annoyance.

“My apologies.” Jareth straightened, standing next to her bench. “Although some would say I am the view.”

She snorted. “Yeah, you would.” She shifted to lean on her elbows, then realized exactly what kind of view she had from her position on the bench. She gaped openly. “You didn’t seriously?”

Jareth looked extremely pleased by her reaction.

“Leather?” she squeaked.

“I’ve always considered it a part of my look,” he said smugly. “And though my wardrobe has been sadly reduced, it only seemed right to include it.”

With difficultly, she managed to speak again. “That looks uncomfortable.”

“Not in the least,” he said, with more than a bit of a leer. “But you’re free to feel for yourself and see.”

It was a tempting offer, but she ignored it. “You sure? You’re not cold or anything?”

He smirked back at her and posed. “What does it look like to you?”

She had to admit it was a good view, not that she’d ever tell him that directly. His ego was already the biggest thing in the kingdom. She looked at the books strewn around her instead.

“Looks like you need to help me get these all back,” she told him.

He heaved a melodramatic sigh and rolled his wrist, forming several crystals that flew from his fingertips and floated gently to each of the books. One after another, they disappeared, and she knew they would be waiting for her on a table in the library. 

She got up from the bench and leaned into him to place a quick kiss on his cheek. “Thanks.”

Before she moved away, his arms came around her and dragged her against him for a much more thorough kiss. Her hands came up to brace herself against his chest and she spread her fingers over his bare skin, slightly chilled by the cool air. She was very tempted to let them wander further, to trail downward and feel just how comfortable his leather undergarments were. His tongue swept into her mouth, filling her senses with the spicy taste of him. She moaned and he pressed harder against her, crowding her into nearly falling back onto the bench. 

She finally had to break for breath and she leaned her head against his chest, panting slightly. His comforting scent surrounded her, wrapped as she was in his arms, and she smiled against his skin. 

“Come back for lunch, love?” he murmured in her ear, twining a lock of her hair around his fingers. 

She sighed. “In a minute. There’s something I need to look up really quick.”

He leaned back and raised a sculpted eyebrow at her. “So dinner then.”

She flicked his chest and made a face at him. “No, it’ll be quick, it’s just a detail. Should be in the same place I was already looking.”

“Mmm,” he hummed, unconvinced. He unwrapped himself from her and stepped back. Bending at the waist, he held out a hand. “Shall I escort my lady to the library then?”

She took a minute to appreciate the image he made, clad only in a leather thong and affecting the manners of a courtier, then placed her hand regally in his. “You shall, my king.”

He grinned at her, and they disappeared.


	5. Friday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jareth's apparel in this chapter was inspired by The Air Mattress Incident, by Whyndancer, which is an excellent fic. On a very related note, I decided to bump the rating up here.

Sarah had just finished showering and was brushing her teeth when Jareth burst into their room. She could hear him muttering furiously to himself as he walked towards the bathroom, soon appearing in the doorway. Something had obviously gone wrong. He was sporting dark smudges of what looked to be ash all over, up and down his arms and legs and scattered across his chest and face. She raised an eyebrow at him in question. 

“Bloody fireys,” he swore. “Can’t stay in their own bloody forest.”

She attempted to look sympathetic with a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. His scowl quickly melted into a grin when he realized she hadn’t yet dressed for bed. 

“This is a much more pleasing sight though,” he said, coming forward and placing his hands on her hips. 

“Mmf!” she protested, quickly leaning over the sink to spit out the toothpaste still in her mouth. “I just got clean, Jareth!”

He hummed in agreement and continued kissing across her shoulder. As his hands began trailing upward, she shoved at his chest.

“Shower,” she told him firmly.

He sighed and she gave him a quick kiss before pushing him away to turn back to the sink. He really did make being covered in soot look good, she reflected as he walked away. Looking down, she noticed he had left dark fingerprints on her hips.

-

When Jareth finally emerged from the bathroom, Sarah was settled in bed, reading. She set her book aside as he approached the bed. As good as he had looked smudged and dirty, he looked almost angelic now, with his wild blonde hair and his skin clean and bare. Well, almost bare. Sarah frowned as she noticed the underwear. He never wore anything to bed and she was unsettled by the change. 

When he got closer she could see what he was wearing more clearly in the dim light, and her mouth went completely dry. It wasn’t one of the pieces he had been wearing the past few days, or the leather one from yesterday. This was made entirely of dark blue lace shot through with silver threads, at once exposing and covering him. The dark fabric contrasted sharply with his snow-pale complexion, highlighting the skin peeking through the gaps. The lace clung enticingly to him, shifting slightly as he walked. She swallowed. She could just imagine running her hands over him, feeling the texture of the lace against his smooth skin. 

Jareth stopped beside the bed, eyebrows raised, preening slightly, though not as much as she would have expected. 

“That’s new,” she rasped.

“Yes, well, there hardly seemed a reason to go without,” he sniffed, lifting the sheets and seating himself on the edge of the bed. 

She nearly rolled her eyes but felt suddenly guilty halfway through. If he was simply being petulant about earlier, she would have no problem ignoring him, but now that she thought about it, he did have a point. They had barely kissed the past week and definitely hadn’t done anything more. And she missed him. He was being ridiculous, but she missed him a lot. 

On reflection, his outfit yesterday was almost certainly a play for attention. She had meant to join him after she had finished her research, but then there was something else to find, and they hadn’t seen each other until bed again. He was naturally more physically affectionate than her, something she wasn’t sure was a ‘fae thing’ or a ‘Jareth thing’. She didn’t mind in the least, but she had to remind herself occasionally that he was hurt much more easily when ignored, even if his pride would never let him admit it. 

Looking at his back as he sat on the bed, fiddling with something on the night table, she gnawed her lip uncertainly, then went for the direct approach. She crawled across the bed and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him around to face her. He ended up on his feet, leaning over the bed, and she pulled his face down to hers, kissing him deeply. He moaned into her mouth and met her kiss fiercely, running his hands up and down her sides. She let herself fall back to the bed, pulling him over her, and he followed eagerly. He ground into her and she moaned back, vaguely wishing she hadn’t bothered with pajamas so she could feel him better. He seemed to be of the same mind, slipping his hands under her tank top and stroking the skin beneath.

She shivered, then gripped his hips tightly with her legs and shoved at his shoulder, rolling them across the bed until he was on his back. Tearing her mouth from his, she sat up on his hips, watching with pleasure the way he gasped at the sensation.

“You’re still an idiot,” she told him matter-of-factly, then covered his mouth with hers again before he could reply. By the way he responded, he didn’t seem to mind.


	6. Saturday

It was nearly midday when Sarah got out of bed the next morning. Jareth had already left, giving her a last kiss before disappearing. Sarah had eventually made it to the bathroom, then the closet, where she was now idly flicking through clothes, mind wandering.

She figured she was about as ready as she could expect to be for tomorrow. She could spend the day on last-minute cramming, but it was probably better to not risk confusing herself further. This particular event would be purely social, so there was nothing she needed to prepare, and Jareth would be taking care of her dress. He enjoyed creating their outfits and she trusted him to make something that would suit both her and the occasion. She wasn’t necessarily thrilled about the event itself, but she was excited to see what Jareth had been working on – 

Oh no.

He _wouldn’t_.

He absolutely would and she knew it. He would create a stunning outfit for her, as he always did, but she had a sudden sinking feeling she knew exactly what he planned to wear. He certainly had no shame. Maybe – 

She ran from the bedroom and took off down the hallway, making her way through the corridors until she skidded to a stop in front of the library. Panting, she threw open the door and dashed over to the desk.

It was nearly empty, as she had expected. Jareth had definitely sent the letter she had set aside and their host would be expecting them. She sighed. There was no getting out of it now. 

She looked out the window overlooking the Labyrinth and ran her hand through her hair distractedly. She was beginning to doubt her ability to make it through the next night without causing an inter-realm incident. She briefly considered going naked herself in retaliation, but Jareth would enjoy it much more than she would. Well, she would certainly enjoy it in the end. But it wouldn’t exactly be helping the situation. 

She sighed again and threw herself into the desk chair. It looked like she would be doing some preparations after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Jareth today (at least not directly), just a short bit before this wraps up tomorrow!


	7. Sunday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's!

Jareth made himself scarce Valentine’s morning, which was a distinct change from past years Sarah had spent with him. She didn’t manage to catch up with him until she returned to their bedroom in the mid-afternoon to begin getting ready for the evening. She found him crouched in front of a mannequin set up next to the large mirror, fussing with a detail in what looked to be her dress. As expected, he was naked. As soon as she entered the room he stood and turned to greet her. 

“Do you approve?” he asked grandly, gesturing to the gown.

She tore her attention from him for a moment and gasped. “Oh, Jareth.” He had outdone himself, as always.

She crossed the room and stroked the dark red material admiringly. “It’s beautiful,” she told him, and he preened.

“Try it on for me?” he asked silkily, leaning over her shoulder. 

She turned away from the dress to look at him directly. “In a minute,” she promised. “But we have to talk about what you’re planning on wearing.”

He smirked at her. “I’m already wearing it,” he said, indicating his lack of clothing. 

“Yeah, that’s what we need to talk about. Jareth, you know I love you and that you look very good naked. But please put some clothes on.”

He looked offended. “I couldn’t possibly –“

“Mm!” she cut him off, holding a hand up. “Don’t.” His eyebrows shot up in surprise. 

She set her hands on his shoulders. “Okay, look. I know you’ve been doing this for an incredibly long time and doing it well and I know how important the kingdom is to you. I didn’t mean to imply it wasn’t, so I’m sorry for that. You are a good king, Jareth, even if you spend at least five times longer getting dressed than you could possibly need.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but she continued. “But it’s hard because I’m still trying to find my place here, you know? And I know you’re used to handling this all on your own. But I need your help because I don’t know it all like you do. I want to, and I’m trying. So I guess it’s just frustrating sometimes when you brush things off so easily because they matter to me. I care about the kingdom too, and I need to be able to protect it.”

She glanced away, suddenly uncomfortable. Jareth’s hand came up to gently hold her chin, turning her back so he could look into her eyes. “I – understand. And I apologize, Sarah. You are correct, I am not accustomed to sharing, in my responsibilities or otherwise. I have been alone for a very long time, and I know I do not always take your needs into consideration as I should. This is our kingdom, and you are my queen. You have been more than I ever knew to hope for, my Sarah, and I shall endeavor to be what you need.”

“You are Jareth, you always have been.” She rested her hands on either side of his face, thumbs brushing his cheekbones, and pulled him down to her, kissing him slowly and deeply. His hands came up to cradle her jaw, stroking along her neck. 

They slowly parted, lips clinging to each other. Sarah opened her eyes and grinned at him. “You’re still a peacock though.” He laughed. “Now, as much as I appreciate having you naked in our bedroom, I really don’t feel like spending the night fighting off every fae who takes our marriage as a personal offense.” 

He grinned back at her. “I do think I could have started a trend though, bring in nudity as the next thing in court.” 

She snorted. “You know perfectly well you wouldn’t be the only one without clothes there, even at the beginning of the night, and definitely not by the end.”

“Very true,” he said, sighing. “I couldn’t possibly attend in the same attire as another. Although I do think I give it a certain flair that any of them sadly lack.”

“True,” she said, straight-faced. 

He smirked at her, then turned to the mirror. One piece at a time, he magicked his clothing into place, adjusting each piece as he went. There was a certain amount of ritual in his motions, and Sarah watched fondly as he carefully built his costume, focused on every detail. When he was done, he turned back to her and spread his arms, clearly indicating for her to take him in. 

“You look amazing,” she told him, only very slightly disappointed that he was dressed. He preened noticeably under her praise. He really was beautiful. He knew exactly how to flatter himself and his outfit was dazzling, matching the same dark red of her dress.

“Your turn, love,” he said, looking her over with anticipation. 

She let him dress her and he took just as much care with her appearance as he had with his own. His touch lingered as it moved over her body, frequently stopping to caress one spot or another. He scattered kisses across her skin and her breath was shallow by the time she was dressed. He bent to adjust the layers of her skirt, trailing his fingers down her legs, then dragging them back up again as he rose. They danced up her arm, his mouth following behind, and trailed along the edge of her bodice to where it dipped between her breasts. She shivered at his teasing touch and he looked up to meet her eyes with a wicked grin. Leaning in, she pulled his face to hers to meet him in a kiss. He hummed with pleasure against her. Pulling slowly away, he circled her, sliding his hands around her waist, until he stood behind her. He met her eyes in the mirror, hands still stroking firmly along her sides. 

“You are a vision, my Sarah.” She smiled, and his eyes sparkled. 

Turning in his arms, she claimed his lips again. He explored her languorously, taking his time, as if he was only just learning the shape of her mouth again. She slid her hands from his chest to stroke the sensitive skin along his neck, then tangled them in his hair, mussing the careless style he had perfected. 

Breaking away briefly, he murmured against her lips. “We do have to leave soon, love.” She moaned in protest, and he smiled into their kiss. 

After several minutes she reluctantly broke away, sighing heavily. He was right.

“Are you ready?” he murmured. 

She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “Always,” she told him, smiling, chin high. 

He grinned back, holding her tightly, and they disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never expected to write an entire story centered around Jareth's undergarments, but here it is, in all its rather dubious glory. I may post a bonus chapter later if I can finish that up. Hope you enjoyed, would love to hear what you thought!

**Author's Note:**

> There's a couple more pieces to this, all pretty short, this is probably the longest.


End file.
